Australia's Japanese Film Festival Is Expanding!

One of the favorite events amongst Australian film lovers, the annual Japanese Film Festival (JFF), will be having a major expansion this year. Now in its 17th year, the JFF has been consistently bringing the latest and best Japanese films to our shores year after year. Those of us living in Sydney and Melbourne have enjoyed the opportunities to see a great number of exciting, inspiring and challenging films on the big screen at the Festival, much to the jealousy of people living in other major cities like Brisbane, Perth and Canberra, where traditionally they only get limited screenings of a handful of films. 

But all this is going to change this year, because the 17th JFF is being taken to a national stage that will include all of the five cities mentioned above. In each city, ten of the latest feature films and five classics will be screened, with an even greater extended program in the two flagship cities of Sydney and Melbourne.

To celebrate this growth, the team has created a new origami-themed logo and tag line 'Watch Japan Unfold'. The design and colors have special meanings in the Japanese culture - red for Japan's identity and history; orange for a youthful, energetic Japan and blue (aizome) signifying traditional Japanese arts.

The program line-up and full festival details will be announced next month, and so please like the JFF Facebook page and follow the JFF on Twitter to avoid missing out on any news. Of course, we will endeavor to bring you the latest updates as we come across them. But for now, you can mark the Festival's dates in your diaries: 

BRISBANE: 16 - 20 October

Events Cinema Brisbane Myer Centre

PERTH: 23 - 27 October

Hoyts Westfield Carousel and State Library Theatre

CANBERRA: 30 October - 3 November

Capital Cinema Manuka

SYDNEY: 14 - 24 November

Event Cinemas George Street

MELBOURNE: 28 November - 8 December

Hoyts Melbourne Central and ACMI Cinemas (Australian Centre for the Moving Image)